Strange Control Panel Behavior - Xp

Old Man T · Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 3

I don't often make use of the Control Panel so I don't know when this particular situation first arose. The symptom that appears is that when populating the Add-Remove Programs List is completed, the first 10 to 15 programs are listed and then there is a huge gap of perhaps 140 pages of emptiness or black bars. After that, the remaining programs are listed. I believe they're all there but what in h--l caused the gap and how do I get rid of it???

Old Man T

Claymore · Joined: Mar 09, 2005 Posts: 2034

Hi,
You're in the wrong forum, but never mind. Try this:
Kelly's Korner - Remove white space
Scroll down to line 226 - right-hand column.

Other than that, have you had AutoCad installed in your computer? If so, try this:
Kelly's Korner - White space caused by AutoCad

Good Luck!

Old Man T · Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 3

Hi, Claymore -

Thanks for the quick reply. I also apologize for posting in the wrong forum however, I plead utter ignorance - I've never been "here" before and I'm not familiar with the proper protocol. But, before I lose contact completely, let me express what I think the suggestions mean: 1) not all registry entries have a DisplayIcon; 2) some of those that do have a DisplayIcon have either no numbers or positive numbers following the file name; and, 3) several have negative numbers following the folder and file references. Of these last, am I correct in assuming that the negative numbers can be simply deleted without any concurrent negative effects??? And, should I delete all the negative numbers I can find in the "Uninstall/{}" list? How about those programs listed by name, rank and serial number as opposed to the "{}" list???

As you can surmise from the above, I'm in the situation where a little bit of knowledge is dangerous and a complete lack of knowledge is fatal!

I do highly appreciate your response and I think it is wondrous how you were able so quickly to locate the reference.

jeber · Joined: Dec 19, 2002 Posts: 4198 Location: The Village

A program I use and recommend that may help is Reg Cleaner, which you can get free at MajorGeeks.com. Always backup your registry before using this. It will help you remove deleted programs that still have references in the registry.
Another program I use and recommend (not freeware but worth the money) is Add/Remove Plus, available here. It can delete entries from the Windows Add/Remove list that Windows can't get rid of.
As to your specific questions, I haven't a clue what you might be seeing there. So I'll leave that to wiser heads.

Claymore · Joined: Mar 09, 2005 Posts: 2034

Mr. T,

Sorry for not getting back sooner and also for pointing to two links that are the same thing. Your surmising is essentially correct. In the Registry key indicated you would be looking for a DisplayIcon Value showing a negative value, but unfortunately a negative value will not always create this condition.
I am assuming that you don't have Autocad installed, so I suggest you proceed as follows:

You should look at the p.s. at the bottom of this post first.

Option 1.

Go to Start => Run and type in
regsvr32 appwiz.cpl (a space after the ...32)

Try the Add/Remove Programs again. If it doesn't work try this:

Option 2.

In Add/Remove Programs note down the programs that are listed immediately before and immediately after the white space.

Now, download and install this freeware tweaker utility (a super program):

X-Setup

After opening the program (never mind the wizards) go to:
System
Software Installation
Uninstall
Uninstall Software List Editor

Look for a program listed in between the ones you noted down earlier.
Now you have two options:
You can Delete it right away if it's been uninstalled already - and F9 to Save this choice, or...
You can uninstall it first by clicking the Edit CMD button. Then right-click and Copy the uninstall path shown. Now open Start => Run, right-click and Paste in this path. Hit the OK button and the program should uninstall. Then, back in X-Setup Delete the entry and F9 to Save.
But either way, you want to delete the offending entry.

Luck!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

p.s. All of the above is to edit the Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Software
Microsoft
Windows
CurrentVersion
Uninstall

If you're nervous, you can back up this key by opening the Registry Editor by going to Start => Run and typing in regedit. Navigate to this key, right-click, Export, give it a name and Save to a suitable location. Double-clicking on this saved .reg file will put things back the way they were.

Old Man T · Joined: May 26, 2005 Posts: 3

Claymore,

If I were a superstitious man, I would set up a creche next to my computer in which I would install an effigy of you (or what my image of you is) and offer twice daily prayers for your long, healthy and wealthy life. Since I'm not generally superstitious, I'll only offer you my everlasting gratitude and don't forget awe. Your suggestion of using X-SetUp worked so well that I purchased the Pro v.7 and will sleep with a copy of it under my pillow.

Thank you again... and again. :thumbup:

Oldman T

Claymore · Joined: Mar 09, 2005 Posts: 2034

Glad you got it fixed, Mr. T, and many thanks for your kind words. No need for the sacrifices to the effigy - no candles, chicken blood and rum, but prayers are never wasted.

If you want X-Setup to start in the "Default" mode, i.e. not in any Wizard mode, you can edit the program's shortcut in Start => Programs like this:

Right-click on the shortcut and click on Properties.
Edit the Target box to add this switch /LAUNCH_CLASSIC_UI so that the path in the target box would look something like this:

....... .exe" /LAUNCH_CLASSIC_UI
There is a space before the forward slash.
This will open X-Setup in the folder view.

Regards